STAY UP LATE

If you don't follow me on instagram or aren't one of my facebook friends, you are potentially thinking I look a lil different in my most recent outfit photo. It is with great excitement I share the news that my partner and I are expecting a baby in January, 2018!

This blog for me has always been a "lifestyle blog" so naturally (when I remember to post) the content will shift with the shift in my life. I know there is an overwhelming amount of mummy bloggers and I don't see that being the direction I head in (although I don't say that with one hundred percent certainty) but rather a place to share fashion adjustments and more pregnancy and baby focused wish lists. If there is anything in particular you are wanting to see me post, please comment and let me know :) 

I am heading towards the half way mark of pregnancy and I still have that feeling like I have fudged my resume and gotten a job I wasn't quite qualified for. From multiple conversations I am starting to realise that it isn't a feeling that will necessarily go away and like any new job you sort of have to sit at your unfamiliar desk smiling, looking busy and acting like you got this.... hoping that eventually the whole fake it till you make it will come to fruition.  

When I was in the sixth grade I cut my hair off into a bob cut, I got home and tried on all my clothes but nothing looked quite right. I remember looking in the mirror and howling with regret over my new hair cut because now I needed a whole new wardrobe to match my whole new hair, which as a sixth grader earning approx zero dollars was not going to happen. Eventually I adjusted to my new hair cut and my clothes began to look normal and everything was fine. This flashback is a pretty accurate summary of how I feel about my current wardrobe, nothing I own looks quite right. I don't have time to adjust to my new body like I did my sixth grade hair cut because it is constantly changing. 

As women, (not discounting men's feelings, just not something I have experience with) we spend our whole lives with such a strong focus on our physical appearance with a pressure to have our bodies look a certain way. We are continually crushed under the weight of a societal pressure that tells us that one of the worst things you can be is "fat" or "big", just to clarify this is not a point of view I agree with (if not obvious). So after thirty two years of having this drilled into me I am suppose to be instantly comfortable with my growing, bigger, fatter body. I look at other women bigger than myself and think they look glowing and radiant but personally I haven't adjusted to this unfamiliar body and I don't have time to feel comfortable with it because it keeps changing. Once you are pregnant it is like it become taboo to talk about  your body in a negative way because as a walking baby oven you are suppose to be this wonderful,happy, glowing beacon of light. To concern yourself with such trivial things like body image seems to be seen as superficial, yet at the same time you are also suppose to be navigating people commenting on your growing appearance daily. 

This is probably all coming across as a bit negative but I felt like it was something I wanted to write down because it is a part of my current journey and I am sure a lot of other women's. The way I dress is a huge part of my identity and not being able to wear a lot of my clothing this early on has made me feel a little lost in myself.  So now I am going to force myself to see this as a challenge to find the pieces that make me feel comfortable and fit my aesthetic and to work with what I have got in my wardrobe that fits. So far I have found most maternity clothing to be so boring, if you don't wear black, grey, white, navy or striped very few stores cater for you. I feel like I have rambled on a fair bit so far so I might leave maternity clothing exploration for the next post. xx

Mel Stringer Earrings - Etsy

Donut Bag - Kmart Kids

Jaded London Festival Sequn Bomber Jacket - Asos

Pastel Necklace - Sad Gal Craft

Maternity Bardot Dress with Half Sleeve - ASOS

Nike Roshe BR - Hype DC

MARK ME ABSENT

Half way through the year,,, how did that sneak up? I know I have been atrocious at posting this year outside of my America tour diary post (they took me forever as well). I think I have lost my social media mojo.. I don't even know if that is a word people use anymore. This year has been tough so far, it started with crushingly difficult personal stuff that I am still working through and I think because of that I felt/feel less inclined to share/expose myself online. Maybe eventually I will write about it but at the moment it is all a bit to raw. 

I started my degree which has been wonderful and thoroughly challenging so far. I think going into it I knew that there would be a lot of study but I didn't quite understand just how much it was and the length of time and the endless hurdles. Don't get me wrong I do think the road to being a registered Psychologist should be a difficult one because you end up in a position with a lot of responsibility, that if not thoroughly trained for and taken very seriously could result in some pretty awful things. I think I just had that moment where I was really questioning if this was a really wanted, if this is what I wanted to commit to,  a pathway that will likely mean I will be studying/ training for the next ten years. I think I convinced myself to get through the semester and then see how I feel and once I told myself that it seem to make me feel more solid in my choice. I really do love the content, I love everything I am learning about and feel excited to learn more. But I must admit I am grateful for exams to be over and a bit of a break for mid semester. xx 

Pastel Vintage Dress - American Vintage

Lazy Oaf x Esther Loves You enamel pin

Paste rainbow mini back pack - Forever 21

Pink pom pom - Urban outfitters

Toy Store Little Bo Peep Old Skool Highs - Vans

WINTER PASTELS

Over 7 months since my last outfit post, the time has flown by so quickly and at the same time Melbourne living feels like a distant memory. I never got around to getting my camera fixed and the warranty has now expired, so there is a strong chance it will now sit in the depths of my drawers alongside broken phones and various knick knacks I probably don't need.

A quick rewind to 7 months ago, I was packing up my little dollhouse unit, boxing up 8 years of Melbourne life. I said goodbye to my job of over three years at the head office for Converse, a job I adored, more than anything for the people I worked with who had become like a family. I put myself on a shopping ban, which I (mostly) stuck to and learnt how to save. Saving had never been something I was particularly good at, there has been a few attempts over the years that had always been thwarted by an asos sale binge. My mum has always been an amazing saver and when I would go to her about saving tips or advice she would always tell me that you just need to want something badly enough to save for. Mums always have a way of being right about everything and I had finally found my thing I wanted more than a fashion fix and that was to move up to Newcastle to embark on an adventure filled life with my best friend/boyfriend/partner in crime/love of my life. I'd always said I would end up back in Newcastle one day but I needed something to give me that final push and in October of last year I got that push. 

It was an exciting decision but also a terrifying one, I knew that if I moved back to Newcastle I would be leaving the fashion industry, there was no work in my field, in all honesty there isn't a lot of work in Newcastle period. The older I get, I am starting to realise that you can't always have everything, instead you can have a few things that are really great and if you focus on those rather than the things you don't have life is pretty damn wonderful. The closest thing to my industry up here was retail and I was very lucky that I got the first job I applied for, managing a sneaker store. I still wear a lot of my beloved Converse but have started expanding my sneaker horizons out to other brands.

So here we are in the presant-day, I have been working in my role at Hype DC for nearly 7 months, when I am not there I have been sewing away, working on a baby clothing label called Joy Gebicki which  I am really excited about.

I have caught the saving bug and my partner and I have started saving for a house (how very grown up). Being a "saver" has completely changed my shopping habits, I spend a lot more time putting things in to carts and wishlists and then really thinking about If I actually want them, most of the time my shopping lust passes. I spend more time on ebay looking for bargains, it actually works in my favor that the pastel trend, which is very much my style has now passed so a lot of people are offloading. I haven't been thrifting very often, mostly because I haven't found any good thrift stores up here, if anyone has any favourite Newcastle thrifting haunts, please feel free to share them with me. One of the most exciting things to happen is I have booked a trip to Japan for November, I have never been overseas before so I am nearly bursting with excitement about it!

On to the outfit post, there had been a lot of talk about a cold snap that was hitting on Sunday. My partner and I decided to take a drive to Barrington Tops to try and see some snow, I love driving adventures, as a child my parents would often bundle us into the car of a weekend and just start driving so it brings back a real nostalgic comfort. 

Pastel Pink Knit Sweater - Bonds -I am always on the hunt for warm clothes in pastel hues, currently also looking for hoodies in pastel colours, if anyone has come across any please link me x

Floral embroidered collar blouse - Asos

Blue and Pink Beanie - Thrifted from Mitcham

Pastel Necklace - Up The Garden Path - This beautiful necklace was handmade by the lovely Bec who I had the pleasure of working with at Converse.

Nasty Gal Reboot Moto Jacket - Purchased second hand on Ebay - A while ago Unif did a pastel moto jacket that I was madly in love with, I made the silly mistake of snoozing on it and it sold out. Since then it has been one of my regular searches on ebay, hoping that one day I will be able to add it to my wardrobe. After a year or so of searching I still haven't had any luck. Recently this pastel moto jacket came up for sale on ebay, worn once and I figured it could fill this hole of never getting the Unif one. I really love the contrast zips of the sleeves, I think it such a pretty touch. I posted my new purchase on instagram with a caption about it (nearly) making up for not getting the Unif one. Low and behold one of my beautiful instagram friends had the Unif one for sale in a size Medium, I would usually be a small/ extra small but I had heard that this jacket is a very small cut. As I am working on this post the post man has delivered my beautiful Pastel Unif Moto Jacket which I am sure will feature in an upcoming post.

Pastel Stripe Socks - Kmart kids section
Adidas ZX Flux - Hype DC

Hopefully it wont be as long between now and the next post xx

photos by the wonderful Kye Smith

DARLING IT'S BETTER DOWN WHERE IT'S WETTER

We had a sneaky bit of sunshine on the weekend and I decided to make the most of it ! xo

Wildfox Mermaid Crop Tee

Vintage Mint Pencil Skirt

Eadie Chunky White Sandals - Lipstik Shoes

White Shimmer and Sparkle Tights - Kids Section at H&M Melbourne

Coo Ca Choo Pastel Shell Necklace - Clear It

Octopus Ring - Ebay (Not the exact one because I bought it a while ago)

Striped Transparent Bag - Thrifted Kids Beach Bag